Fabrication of flexible TiO2-SiO2 composite nanofibers with variable structure as efficient adsorbent

Abstract

As inorganic oxides become increasingly popular in practical applications, variable structure, superior softness and large specific surface area of inorganic oxides play an increasingly vital role. In this work, hierarchical and flexible TiO2-SiO2 nanofibrous mats were fabricated by sol-gel combined with calcination. This method thoroughly eliminated the complicated spinneret and unstable efflux compared with coaxial and multifluidic electrospinning. Interestingly, the interior structure of TiO2-SiO2 composite nanofibers was variable, which was tuned via changing the ratio of continuous phase and oil phase, varying from mesoporous, multi-channel to hollow. The specific surface area of mesoporous TiO2-SiO2 nanofibers was as large as 674.6 m2 g-1. It was confirmed that TiO2-SiO2 nanofibrous mats could maintain integrated morphology after bending to curvature which the radius is 0.6 mm, indicating the brittleness of inorganic oxides was successfully overcome. Flexible TiO2-SiO2 composite nanofibers as adsorbent showed superior adsorption efficiency and recyclable performances.